A historic wall in St. George surrounding a high school is coming down despite a preservation society’s efforts to save it from demolition. To some Islanders, the slabs of cement mean so much. Yet bulldozers continue to wreck the 150 year-old wall at St. George as part of a massive expansion plan for Curtis High School. A local group has fought the DOE proposal since last February.
"The destruction of this wall is the destruction of a landmark symbol that has defined this neighborhood for nearly two centuries," says Theo Dorian, President at St. George Civic Association. "It was like a gash in our hearts.”
Nostalgia aside, some neighbors are simply displeased with the noise as well as the destruction of a local treasure they say complements the homes of the historic district.
“It has been extremely disrupting to the neighborhood every single resident here has complained about the shaking and the noise,” says Sarah Power of St. George.
But Council Member Debi Rose says there are more benefits to looking to the future than Staten Island’s past. In a statement to NY1 Rose says “It is important that we plan for our future, and this investment in our youth—which will add 12,000 square feet of classroom space to a school that is already at 145% capacity—is an essential part of that planning.”
She adds the construction authority approved her request to re-purpose stones from the wall to build chess tables and benches for the Curtis High School students to enjoy. She says the compromise serves both preservation concerns while still paving the way for the future.
But leaders of the historic preservation group say they do not accept Council Member Rose’s solution. "To think of all these stones to be repurposed for furniture or for recreational equipment is really a ghoulish one that hardly does anything to make us feel better about this destruction,” says Dorian.
The DOE tells NY1 that construction at the site is expected to be finished for the start of the 2017-2018 school year.